Stepping it up Falls' 24 sparks Notre Dame rout

December 22, 2006|TOM NOIE Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Shock-wave therapy on a large swath of scar tissue in his left foot and a seat on the sideline for two games helped soothe what ailed Notre Dame guard Colin Falls. Falls, who had not played in two weeks because of a recurrence of plantar fasciitis, returned Thursday to hit his first seven shots for 18 first-half points against Army. That allowed No. 20 Notre Dame to race to a 26-point halftime lead before its ninth-consecutive win, 88-47. Falls joked during warm-ups that he was ready to play at least 30 minutes, more if needed. When it was over, he had hit for a season-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting in only 18 minutes. His six 3-pointers were two shy of the school record. Eight minutes and change remained when Falls moved toward the end of the Irish bench, removed his left shoe and applied a bag of ice. "It just felt good," Falls said afterward of the foot. "I felt loose and I was moving better and hopefully it continues." Still a bit sore to start the week, Falls was concerned about what he could offer Thursday. A solid workout Wednesday proved to coach Mike Brey that No. 15 should step back into the starting lineup. "He was just so anxious to play, he was shot out of a cannon," Brey said. "That helped our focus." So more shock-wave therapy, something Falls has had twice since summer, is on tap in the coming months, right? "I'm done with that," he said. "I'm going to be healthy the rest of the season." Thursday's success marked the longest Irish win streak during Brey's seven seasons, and most consecutive wins since 1986-87. It was Notre Dame's sixth victory by at least 24 points and the seventh straight game the Irish have scored at least 80. Notre Dame (10-1) has reached 10 wins quicker than at any time in the program's 102-year history. The Irish never trailed Thursday, led by as many as 49 points and hit a season-high 15 3-pointers. Lost in the lopsided evening was the work of freshman Luke Harangody. The power forward scored 10 points and finished with career highs for rebounds (12) and assists (4). "I felt good out there, got into the flow of the game," he said. "The floor was spread out well that it was easy." Army (9-3) saw its six-game win streak snapped after having won its previous two by an average of 55.5 points. But the Black Knights realized early in a long night that this was not New York Maritime or New York Purchase. "We got beat in every which way," coach Jim Crews said. "Notre Dame played harder than us, and they competed harder than us and they played smarter than us. "They man-handled us." Kokomo native Matt Bell led the Black Knights with 15 points. Connecting flights and time with families over the next five days were supposed to distract the Irish going into this one, but Falls guaranteed that it never became an issue. He wasted little time getting going against the Black Knights, who came into the contest having held their last three opponents to 42 or fewer points. The Irish moved past that mark with a Kyle McAlarney 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining before half. Falls needed all of 38 seconds before stepping into the scoring column on a baseline jumper off an inbound play. Just as Falls released his shot, classmate Russell Carter called out "that's two" from the top of the key. Falls returned with a fade-away in the lane, a layup and two deep threes for 12 quick points in the first 6:36. He hit all seven of his shots from the floor in the first half, including four threes. His only miss occurred when he stepped to the foul line and failed to convert on the front end of a one-and-one. "Once he hits one, I know to look for Colin," said McAlarney, who finished with eight assists. "We were so ready to play tonight." Notre Dame led by 26 points at intermission after scoring 46 -- nine shy of the average Army had allowed the opposition this season. While the Irish settled into a nice first-half rhythm of 12 assists on 15 baskets and eight different players scoring, the defense was just as sharp. Notre Dame held Army without a field goal for a 6:05 stretch as a contest that was expected to be close quickly turned one-sided. Really one-sided. "I don't know if we could have a better performance," Falls said.Staff writer Tom Noie: tnoie@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6153 NOTRE DAME 88 ARMY 47 ARMY (47)min fg ft rb pf tp 23 Matt Bell 4-6 5-6 2 3 15 9 Eric Zastoupil 3-4 2-2 0 0 8 17 Tyrell Thompson 1-2 3-4 4 1 5 22 Jarell Brown 2-10 1-2 0 1 5 18 Chris Walker 2-5 0-2 2 4 4 22 Corban Bates 2-5 0-0 1 2 4 23 Marcus Nelson 1-2 1-3 4 3 3 4 Grant Carter 1-3 0-0 0 0 3 3 Kenny Brewer 0-1 0-0 0 3 0 10 Cleveland Richard 0-2 0-0 0 1 0 14 Cory Sinning 0-0 0-0 3 1 0 7 Marshall Jackson 0-1 0-0 2 0 0 1 Curtis Koszuta 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 5 John Moonshower 0-3 0-0 0 1 0 15 Jimmy Sewell 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 7 Doug Williams 0-1 0-0 2 2 0 TEAM 1 TOTALS 16-46 12-19 22 22 47 3-point fg-fga included in totals above: Bell 2-4, Carter 1-3, Brown 0-4, Bates 0-2, Richard 0-1. TOTALS: 3-of-14 (21.4 percent). NOTRE DAME (88)min fg ft rb pf tp 18 Colin Falls 9-11 0-1 2 2 24 25 Russell Carter 4-11 2-3 2 2 12 18 Luke Harangody 3-7 4-5 12 1 10 21 Rob Kurz 4-7 0-0 7 3 9 25 Kyle McAlarney 2-4 3-4 1 0 9 19 Ryan Ayers 3-4 0-0 3 3 7 15 Zach Hillesland 2-2 2-3 5 3 6 17 Luke Zeller 1-5 0-0 3 4 3 18 Tory Jackson 1-3 0-1 4 2 3 8 Jonathan Peoples 1-2 0-0 0 0 3 4 Tim Andree 1-2 0-0 0 0 2 8 Joe Harden 0-1 0-1 4 0 0 4 Kieran Piller 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 TEAM 2 TOTALS 31-59 11-18 45 20 88 3-point fg-fga included in totals above: Falls 6-8, Carter 2-6, McAlarney 2-4, Ayers 1-2, Peoples 1-2, Zeller 1-2, Jackson 1-2, Kurz 1-1, Harden 0-1. TOTALS: 15-of-28 (53.6 percent). Halftime score: Notre Dame 46, Army 20. Shooting: Army 16-of-46 (34.8 percent), Notre Dame 31-of-59 (52.5 percent). Assists: Army 14 (Nelson 5), Notre Dame 27 (McAlarney 8). Turnovers: Army 16 (Bates 4), Notre Dame 14 (Peoples 2, Carter 2, Ayers 2, Hillesland 2). Officials: Fran Connolly, Mike Kitts, Paul Janssen. Attendance: 8,309.